When to Cast a Love Spell: Unsecure Attachment and Relational Distress as an Interactive Determinants of a Tendency to Magical Thinking

Threat of important resources of any individual may be accompanied by thinking based on the laws of magic (Keinan, 1994; Rozin, Millman and Nemeroff, 1986). The aim of three studies was to examine how different sorts of distress occurring in a romantic context such as insecure attachment style and situationally manipulated bonds deprivation versus connection are associated with a tendency to magical thinking (MT) about the loved one. As expected, attachment anxiety was a positive predictor of MT especially among people who were not in a romantic relationship or those experiencing deprivation of romantic bonds. Individuals with high attachment anxiety were characterized by greater levels of magical thinking at the beginning of the relationship than in the later stages. Avoidant attachment allowed the negative prediction of magical thinking but only among those who presently were in romantic relationships or those experiencing increased situational closeness to the partner. The regulatory function of MT is being discussed.